Strand stretcher



Oct. 29, 1963 J, sLlNDEN I 3,108,785

STRAND STRETCHER Filed Sept. 12. 1960 r 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. T BuRro/vIJL/Nmw A TTORNE Y;

Oct. 29, 1963 B. J. SLINDEN 3,108,735

STRAND STRETCHER Filed Sept. 12. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

mmvroa BURTON IJL INDEN Arron/vs):

United States Patent M 3,ll8,785 STRAND STRETCHER Burton 3. Sliuden, Rte. 2, Atwater, Filed Sept. 12, 1960, tier. No. 55,311

4 Claims. (Cl. ZSd-ddl) This invention is a strand stretcher that is novel among other reasons because it employs a wheel as means for applying tension to the wire or other strand being stretched. Further novelty of the device resides in the means for maintaining tension once achieved which consists of an elongated flexible member (here a chain) that is wound on the drum of the tightening device coacting with a means for gripping the elongated flexible member (a claw-like latch member) to hold tension once achieved. The catch can be applied or released without removing the hands from the tightening wheel. Yet another novel point of structure in this strand tightener is the form of clamp used to engage the strand which consist of one member that engages the strand and places a bend in it so that tension placed on the strand tends to move one portion of the clamp. Another member of the clamp is secured to the flexible elongated member of the stretcher and under tension tends to move its portion in the opposite direction; whereby the jams of the clamp move toward each other to grip the strand. This gripping efiect is so great that no serration or other strand damaging gripping structure need to be made in the clamping jaws. This combination of a novel structure makes possible a strand stretcher that may be applied to a wide variety of strand ranging from plastic clothes line to steel wire both thick and thin sizes and type without injury to the strand stretched.

Strand stretchers, generally called wire stretchers because most commonly used with wire, are an old art and consequently numerous different forms of the device are already established and well known. Among the known forms, however, all have various defects with respect to the safe use of the device and ability to handle without injury a wide variety of materials to be stretched. As a result most known strand stretchers are limited to single types of work for example, fence stretching, a clothesline tightening or some other specialized form of application. Furthermore, all of the known devices have employed a lever handle or crank to provide the tightening force which handles are capable of becoming highly dangerous instruments in the event of mechanism malfunction. Still another disadvantage of the lever or crank type of device is the fact that it inevitably applies an unbalanced force to tighten the strand, and as a result, the stretcher tends to bend the strand out of line thereby making it more difficult to create a taut condition prior to securing the strand.

Accordingly it is the principal object of this invention to provide a novel strand stretcher.

Another object of this invention is to provide a strand stretcher that is relatively safe to use.

It is another object of this invention to provide a stretcher that is always under control of the operator.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a strand stretcher that can be used on a multitude of sizes and kinds ofstrand elements without injury.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a stretcher in which a wheel is used to turn a drum to wrap a chain about the drum and thereby apply tension to the strand to be stretched and a claw arrangement engaging the link of the chain when tension has once been gained. It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a strand stretcher wherein force applied to the strand actually operate one side of a clamp g 'pping it.

Still other objects are inherent to the structures shown and described herein. 7

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related 3', 1 Patented @ct. 29, 1953 ends, this invention then comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, there being indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

This invention will be described with reference to the drawings in which corresponding numerals refer to corresponding parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partial side elevation partial vertical section taken on the line 11 of FIGURE 2; hidden 7 parts are illustrated with broken lines;

FlGURE 2 is a partial plan view of the structure taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1; hidden parts are illustrated with broken lines;

FIGURE 3 is afragmentary front elevation on the line 3-4: of FlGURE 2;

FiGURE 4 is a detailed view of a strand clamp shown in an open position; broken lines illustrate hidden parts; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional View taken on the line 55 of FlGURE 1.

in the drawings the strand tightener will be seen to comprise a pair of strand gripping clamps ill and ll each of which is connected to the shaft 12. The clamp 11 has suitable means such as chain 14 connected to it and to the member 15 which in turn is rotatably secured to the shaft 12. A suitable elongated flexible member having an irregular surface such as chain 16 is used to connect the clamp ill to the drum 17. Drum 17 is in turn suitably iixed to shaft 12 here shown as by the pin 18 or the like. The means for rotating the shaft 12 is the wheel 19 having spokesfld connecting the wheel rim to the hub 21 which is fixed to shaft 12 in any suitable manner here shown as the pin 22.

Actually although it would be possible to have other means for rotating shaft 12, it is a major feature of this invention to employ the wheel 19 to do so, since a wheel is much less hazardous in the event the operators hands should slip than would be true of a crank or lever extending in only one direction from the shaft 12. The wheel is likewise much safer than a T-handle suchas the spokes and. hub alone would comprise.

As wheel it? is rotated, shaft 12 must turn and drum l7 wraps the chain 16 around itself until the strands to be tightened are under adequate tension. At this point, it is desirable to secure the tightener so that the operator may employ himself in fixing the strands by splicing otherwise securing a tightened strand.

To this end a latch 24 is pivoted to shaft 12 and by means of a claw arrangement 25 thereon engages a link of chain 16 in order to gripit. Control over the latch E l-25 is maintained readily by means of leather 26 which extends far enough toward wheel 19 to permit actuating it without releasing the hands from the wheel.

As shown in FIGURE 3 the claw portion 25 of the latch 2i-25 is much like the claw of a claw hammer. This also appears clearly in FIGURE 1 wherein the curvature of the lower part of the claws 25 are clearly observed. Because the claw is curved at its bottom portion, it will ratchet over the chain links as long as tightening continues. It may occasionally stick, however, and need to be raised by means of trigger handle'26. Once the strands to be stretched or tightened are under proper tension and claw 25 of the latch 24 engages a chain link, the two wire grippers Ill and 11 are held to prevent their separating further. Under these circumstances, a pair of strands such as the ones designated 27 and 28 in FIG- URE 1 will be held with their ends 29 and 39 respectively overlapping each other so that they may be spliced together.

In applying latch 2425 to chain 16, it may well be that the chain will not lie precisely centered as illustrated in the drawings. Under such circumstances it may be necessary to move the latch 24 to one side or the other with respect to the chain. Such movement of latch 24 may be accomplished by pushing on one side of the wheel 19 and pulling on the other. In so doing the shaft 12 will be twisted with respect to the portion of chain 16 extending from drum 17 to the strand clamp it) and in so doing latch claws 25 will be moved laterally with respect to that portion of chain 16. This maneuver brings outanother advantage in using a wheel for tightening a strand. No matter what position wheel 19 is in when this lateral shifting is necessary, leverage is available in line with chain 16. This would not be the case if the structure for turning the drum 17 comprised a crank handle or even a T-ba-r.

Strand clamps 1t) and 11 are also novel in that they employ interaction between the strand tightener and the strand with the clamp mechanism to actuate the clamp. As shown in FIGURES 1 and '4, the strand clamp comprises an eccentric member 31 to which a hook 32 is rigidly secured. The hook 32 provides a ready means for securing the strand clamp to an element such as chain 16. A member 34 is pivoted to eccentric 31 by suitable means such as the nut bolt assembly 35. The member 35 has a shoulder 36 formed on or secured to it that is coextensive with the width of eccentric member 31 as shown in FlGURE 5. The eccentric member 31 has a wire retaining flange 37 which in the position shown in FIGURE 4 does not overla shoulder 36 but which does so overlap the shoulder with any downward pivotal movement of member 35 from the position shown in FiGURE 4. Shoulder 36 terminates at one end in a strand engaging leverage portion 38 which has a pair of wire retaining wing members 39 secured to it.

As shown in FIGURE 1 strand 28 engages the portion 38, and when tension is placed on hook 32, the member 35 is forced to rotate downward from the'position shown in FIGURE 4 by reason of tension placed on strand 2%. This action forces shoulder 36 into a clamping engagement with strand 28 pushing it tightly against eccentric 31. In order to maintain this clamping action, a straight line from leverage point 38 to hook 32 is above the center of pivot bolt 35 as shown in FIGURE 1. Thus the tighter strand 28 is stretched the more force is created for the grip of strand clamp 19. Strand clamp 11 operates in exactly the same manner as strand clamp 19 and it is, therefore, not described in detail nor its parts identified by separate members.

When the strand clamps are in position as shown in FIGURE 4, the strand may be threaded therethrough by pushing the strand over the edge of shoulder 36. It is not necessary to thread the strand through as one would a needle, therefore, but it may be laid in readily. Until some slight tension is placed on the strands, a little appli cation of manual pressure to rotate member 35 downward from the position shown in FIGURE 4 may be.

necessary to commence the gripping on strand 2%. Once a minimum amount of tension has been applied however, the clamp grips securely as described above. Since point 33 is aligned with hook 32 only on a line that lies above pivot point 34, even when shoulder 36 is fully engaged with eccentric 35, the clamps will grip any strand from the largest that it is possible to insert through them down chain 36, the wheel may be released without releasing tension on the strands. When the wheel is released, it will not stand upright as shown in FIGURE 1, of course, but will drop down below the strand. Such position of the wheel will not interfere with the splicing of the ends 29 and 3t of the strands 27 and 28.

After the strand ends are secured, the tightener is removed. This is accomplished by increasing slightly the tension on the strands and then applying an upward movement to trigger lever 26 of catch 24-25 which releases the claw 25 from chain 16. Then wheel 19 is allowed to rotate in a direction opposite to that used in tightening to relieve tension on the strand clamps 1011. As soon as pressure is released, the clamps will release themselves from the strand, as pressure will be removed from leverage point 38.

It is apparent that many modifications and variations of this invention as hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. The specific embodiments described are given by way of example only and the invention is limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A strand tightener comprising a drum having an axis, a link chain secured to said drum, :1 wheel larger in diameter than said drum operatively associated with it for rotating it, means pivoted about said drum axis, a strand clamp secured to said means, a clamp secured to said chain, a catch pivoted about said drum axis and adapted to engage said chain and be released therefrom selectively and a trigger secured to said catch and extending to a point in proximity to the rim of said wheel.

2. A strand tightener comprising, a drum having a shaft at its axis, a wheel larger in diameter than said drum, said wheel secured to said drum shaft, a clamp, elongated means pivoted about said drum shaft for supporting said clamp, an elongated irregularly surfaced flexible means secured to said drum, a second clamp secured to said elongated irregularly surfaced fiexible means, and a bifurcated claw pivoted about said drum axis and adapted to engage said elongated irregularly surfaced flexible means and be released therefrom selectively.

3. The strand tightener of claim 2 in which a trigger is secured to said claw and extends to a point of proximity to the rim of said wheel.

4. A strand tightener comprising, a pair of chains, a strand clamp secured to one end of each of said chains, means including an operating wheel secured to the other ends of said chains for drawing said clamps toward each other, and means secured to said chain drawing means for hooking one of said chains and holding it against lineal movement with respect to said chain drawing means and a control lever secured to said hooking means and having an end that extends to the periphery of said chain drawing means operating wheel, said control lever and said wheel having a common axis of movement, whereby said lever end is always adjacent the periphery of said wheel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A STRAND TIGHTENER COMPRISING A DRUM HAVING AN AXIS, A LINK CHAIN SECURED TO SAID DRUM, A WHEEL LARGER IN DIAMETER THAN SAID DRUM OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH IT FOR ROTATING IT, MEANS PIVOTED ABOUT SAID DRUM AXIS, A STRAND CLAMP SECURED TO SAID MEANS, A CLAMP SECURED TO SAID CHAIN, A CATCH PIVOTED ABOUT SAID DRUM AXIS AND ADAPTED TO ENGAGE SAID CHAIN AND BE RELEASED THEREFROM SELECTIVELY AND A TRIGGER SECURED TO SAID CATCH AND EXTENDING TO A POINT IN PROXIMITY TO THE RIM OF SAID WHEEL. 